Information and Voting

Updated March 28, 2002 12:01 a.m. ET

By-elections in Asia don't usually attract much attention. But they are useful for gauging the popularity of national political parties midway between general elections. A by-election in Malaysia this weekend will be seen by some as a referendum on the country's counter-terrorism efforts, in particular its arrest and detention since Dec. 9 of 35 people the government describes as members of a militant religious group.

In the east-coast state of Pahang, a rural district of around 17,000 voters called Ketari will hold a...